Cardinals shortstop Pete Kozma commits the second of his two errors in Game 1 of the World Series. / Greg M. Cooper, USA TODAY Sports

by Ted Berg, USA TODAY Sports

by Ted Berg, USA TODAY Sports

BOSTON â?? Cardinals shortstop Pete Kozma does not hit much. The 25-year-old former first-round draft pick took over a starting job in the team's middle infield after Rafael Furcal re-injured his elbow in spring training, then batted .217 with a .275 on-base percentage and very little power in the 2013 regular season.

Though likely the worst offensive position player in either World Series team's regular lineup, Kozma earns playing time for St. Louis on the strength of his typically slick glove.

But it was Kozma's defense that cost the Cardinals early in the Red Sox' 8-1 win in Game 1.

With one out and runners on first and second in the bottom of the first inning, Red Sox slugger David Ortiz smacked a ground ball to Cardinals second baseman Matt Carpenter. Carpenter flipped the ball to Kozma to try to start a double play with the slow-footed Ortiz running, but Kozma dropped the flip and failed to secure even the force out at second.

"It was a good feed, and I just missed it," Kozma said afterward.

The Red Sox capitalized on the opportunity when the next hitter, first baseman Mike Napoli, crushed a double to left center that plated all three runners and gave Boston a lead it would not relinquish.

"One play can mean the whole game," Kozma said. "If I make that play, the game would be a lot closer than it was."

The Cardinals' emphasis on fundamentals throughout the organization has earned them national attention this postseason, but the team made three errors in its first game on baseball's biggest stage in 2013.

"We get an opportunity to show the kind of baseball we played all season long, and it didn't look anything like what we saw (Wednesday)," said Cardinals manager Mike Matheny. "We've had a really nice, tight defense, especially on our infield."

"That's not the kind of club we are," said Carpenter. "That was an uncharacteristic game from a defensive standpoint."

Kozma made only nine errors in 139 games at shortstop in the regular season, but tallied two by himself in Game 1 on Wednesday. An inning after his first gaffe, he botched a groundball in the Red Sox' two-run second inning.

"It was really sloppy," Kozma said. "I had the opportunity to make plays and I didn't."

Of course, a seven-game series gives a player plenty of opportunities to redeem himself. And Washington Nationals fans will certainly remember Kozma's role in eliminating their team in the NLDS in 2012, when he reached base 10 times in the five-game set and contributed a game-tying, two-run single in the ninth inning of Game 5 as the Cardinals rallied to win the series.